


Super-Max

by EHC



Series: Tales of Super-Max [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 13:04:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EHC/pseuds/EHC
Summary: Super-Max, junior member of the Superhero-Association, is ready to hang up her cape and start her life anew with her girlfriends, Chloe and Rachel. There's just one last thing to take care of first.





	Super-Max

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simpletextadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpletextadventure/gifts).
  * Inspired by [S&M](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732597) by [simpletextadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpletextadventure/pseuds/simpletextadventure). 



> If you visit the comments section of S&M, you'll see a character bio thing I wrote. This story is a direct sequel to that specific write up.
> 
> Also, read S&M. It's cute as hell and funny. I lost a bit of that humor with this story, so I apologize for that.

Max sat at her favorite tea shop in Arcadia Bay, quietly enjoying a cup of Chai. Under normal circumstances, Kate would be at her side and the two would be chatting amicably about anything and everything. Unfortunately, today was anything but normal. Max had a meeting today: a high-ranking member of the Superhero Association had messaged her, requesting a moment of her time, and who was she, a low-ranking junior member, to refuse the invitation of a veteran?

She smiled softly as she took another sip. She remembered when such a meeting would've scared her absolutely shitless but that was a lifetime ago. Relatively speaking, of course. Three years of being an active hero, though still a junior member, had toughened her up in all the right ways. Less nervous of the unknown, more confident in herself, she knew, even when she didn't know, that this meeting would be nothing she couldn't handle.

But now, she knew even more. And when you're holding all the cards, it's rather difficult to be surprised.

The little bell attached to the cafe door rang out, indicating another visitor. Even had she not already had this conversation once before, Max would've known it was a hero who had arrived. The quiet gasp of surprise from the barista was rather telling, after all. For a moment, she contemplated keeping her back to her but saw no reason to be impolite. They may not have been friends but they were definitely co-workers and were at least friendly to each other.

Max turned in her seat to face her visitor. MindsEye. Dressed in her hero attire of a body-hugging costume that covered her from neck to toe. Steel-toed combat boots adorned her feet while padded gloves covered her hands. Max knew from their work together that those gloves not only protected MindsEye's hands from damage but could also deliver a powerful electrical a shock against unarmored foes. Reinforced knee and elbow pads covered vulnerable joints while an open-mouthed, form-fitting hood protected her identity from the general populace. A Third Eye adorned the center of her hood, her symbol to the general public. A bandoleer and tactical belt rounded out her ensemble.

MindsEye took a moment to scan the room for threats, as per normal, before approaching Max's table. Max gave her a friendly smile which was somewhat reciprocated. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," MindsEye said as she took a seat across from Max.

"And thank you for leaving most of your visible weapons behind. I appreciate it as does most everyone around, I think."

MindsEye shrugged, only slightly discomforted by the lack of weapons she'd normally carry. "Yes, well, there's no real need for them here. Thanks to your efforts, in and out of uniform, Arcadia Bay is one of the safest places to live on the West coast."

"That's not all on me. Everyone who lives in the Bay also works to keep the streets safe."

"Which likely wouldn't have happened if one of the nicest juniors in the SA hadn't decided to make the Bay her home base and began acting as a continuous source of inspiration to everyone."

Quite true. "I just do what I can."

"You'd do more if you stayed."

Max took a sip of her tea to contemplate her response. Her first attempt at this didn't go over very well. "Perhaps," she allowed, "but there's more than my own desires to consider. There are my girlfriends' as well. Rachel graduated last year and is ready to attend school in LA. Her parents are completely on board with her dreams of stardom so long as she graduates college and she's ready to get started. Chloe graduated last semester after busting her ass to get a proper high school degree instead of a GED and is itching to follow her. But both of them put everything on hold just for me. For me to graduate Blackwell. And I'm ready to take the next step in my life. With them at my side."

MindsEye was silent as she considered Max's words. After several long moments, she nodded slowly. "While I can't say I understand," she started, "I can certainly respect your decision. Hero work, though rewarding in its own way, can be rather lonely at times. All of us deal with it in different ways. It's just... retirement seems so permanent. And for one so promising as you, it's admittedly jarring."

"Here you go, Max."

Both heroes turned to face the barista who had stepped up with a fresh cup of Chai tea and placed it in front of Max, taking her now empty cup. "Can I get you anything else?"

"If you could make the absolute strongest cup of coffee humanly possible for my friend here," Max motioned towards MindsEye with one hand, "I'd really appreciate it."

"I'll do my best!" The barista turned to MindsEye. "Cream? Sugar?"

MindsEye considered briefly. "Just black as tar. Thanks."

"Got it. Be right back."

Max turned back to MindsEye as the barista left and grinned. "Last time Chloe ordered something similar, she couldn't sleep for 36 hours straight, so it might be just strong enough for you."

MindsEye smirked and finally relaxed a bit in her chair. "We shall see."

Max took a hold of her cup and gently blew across the rim. As much as she would love to just drink tea and chat, she knew there was more to this meeting than just an attempt at convincing her to stay. During the first iteration of this meeting, MindsEye only hinted at the real reason. It wasn't until months later, nearly a year, in fact, when the Superhero-Association came knocking on her LA door, demanding she return, that she figured it out: they had uncovered her time powers. MindsEye had been tenaciously digging and investigating until she had collected an impressive amount of circumstantial evidence, enough to convince the rest of the SA of the truth as she knew it. And there was no way on dog's green earth they'd let Max stay retired once they knew of her potential.

Their sudden arrival in LA hadn't just been disrupted her and her girlfriends' lives; it utterly shattered it. Rachel and Chloe already knew, of course. Max didn't keep secrets from them. But when a force of six heroes shows up at your door, secrecy goes out the window. Rumors started flying, word spread like wildfire, and soon, everyone, friend, foe, civilians, governments, wanted a piece of her. Religious organizations either vilified her as blasphemous and demanded her death, or considered her a literal angel come from the heavens to save them from Hell on Earth. There was no middle ground. And in their attempts to convince Max to do their bidding, no one was considered off-limits. Especially not a pair of 20-year-old lesbians just trying to graduate college.

So, Max did the only thing she could. She rewound. Hard. Found herself back to yesterday, in her dorm at Blackwell, textbooks opened, studying for her finals. She had called Rachel and Chloe and they came to get her immediately. She explained everything that had happened. No secrets. And together, came up with this plan of attack. They'd get their lives back, no matter what, even if Max was the only one who remembered it getting shattered at all.

Never again.

Max lowered her cup, no longer interested in the tea. She cleared her throat and considered her next words carefully. "I take it by your continued presence that there's more to this meeting than convincing me to stay."

MindsEye hummed. "What makes you say that?"

"You haven't left yet, for starters. As good as the coffee could be, it's definitely not enough for you to stay if there was something more important to do elsewhere."

"True. And?"

"You haven't stopped examining me." Max shrugged. "Some might consider staring rude but I know you. You've been contemplating courses of action, juggling different things to say, trying to figure out the best avenue of approach that will net you the highest probability of success." It was MindsEye super power: the ability to read percentages of success based on her next course of action. Not so useful when it came to planning strategies far in advance but it made her an excellent field commander. Coupled with her martial arts skills and marksmanship, MindsEye was one of the most formidable opponents an enemy could encounter.

MindsEye grinned. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I was just staring at your civilian attire. Such a far cry from your super uniform. Too overwhelming for my innocent eyes."

Max snorted out a laugh. "Please. I'm dating Chloe and Rachel. You'll have to try much harder than that to fluster me that way."

The arrival of the barista interrupted MindsEye's verbal response but the amusement on her face could be plainly seen. The ability to constantly see how much you could fail at every single action did take its toll on joviality but sometimes, MindsEye found herself relaxing enough to have a bit of fun. It wasn't something Max witnessed very often but she felt it was a good look on her.

Hopefully, the rest of their meeting wouldn't destroy that sense of fun.

MindsEye, in the meantime, took a sip from her cup, then nodded in approval. "Good. Nice and strong." She took another sip. "If I'm ever back in the Bay, I'll know where to go for coffee."

Max smiled. "That's good to hear. Just make sure to tip Allison well."

"How much for the joe?"

"She'll refuse to charge you. So long as they don't feel like they're taken advantage of, heroes visiting Arcadia Bar eat for free. Tips, though? No one can say no to tips."

"Good to know."

MindsEye took another sip before setting the cup down. She sighed. "You're right, of course. There's something else I wanted to discuss with you."

"The matter of my time powers."

MindsEye looked up, surprised. It was the first time Max had ever seen that expression on her face. "How the hell...?" She then carefully schooled her features. "So, you do admit you have them, then."

"I see no point in denying it. This isn't the first time we've had this conversation, after all."

Boom. There it was. Full-blown shock. Though her eyes were hidden behind her hood, Max could tell MindsEye was blinking rapidly.

Max continued. "This is only the second time we've talked about it, I'll admit. The first time, let's just say it ended poorly. I stormed out, you did the same. I went to LA with Chloe and Rachel just like I had planned. You kept digging. For facts, for clues. Eventually, you got enough to convince a squad of heroes to knock on my LA door and drag me kicking and screaming back into the SA.

"As always, I was promised support, secrecy, and protection for friends and family. But it was too late for secrecy. Word spread. Rumors flew. And soon, I was the target of every government and criminal organization on this continent. Not to mention every religious organization. And that was just be beginning.

"Admittedly, the SA did what they could. Everyone stepped up. Not one mole or traitor. But even they couldn't be everywhere at once. Chloe. Rachel. My parents. Friends from Blackwell. Everyone became a target. I could use my powers to save them, yes. But, stop one kidnapping and it'd only fuel the next. Prevent one murder from happening would just make the next more painful to witness.

"It became too much. Nearly broke me. Hell, maybe it did. I'm not entirely sure. So, I got desperate. Did something I've only ever done once before: poured everything I could into my ability. Rewound until I was back to yesterday, before all of that actually happened. Planned how I'd approach you today, knowing what I did. And beg you to understand. To let me go. To drop the investigation. To help me keep this one secret from everyone else. To let me take that next step in my life with the two people I love more than my own life."

Max fell silent and let MindsEye think. Contemplate her words. Consider her next course of action. Read the probabilities of success. Wonder what to do. Max let her. She had all the time in the world.

Eventually, MindsEye leaned forward. Licked her lips. And, as hesitant as Max had ever seen her, asked, "You said you'd done that once before?"

Max nodded. "In my original timeline, Rachel was dead, trying to earn money for Chloe, who had been paralyzed from an auto accident." Max saw realization dawn on the visible portion of MindsEye's face. "Exactly. That accident. Chloe was dead as well, though, by the time I got back to Arcadia Bay to attend school. Broken heart. I was incredibly depressed, knowing that if only I had still been in Arcadia Bay, I could've saved Chloe with my strength and invulnerability. But I wasn't. And then Mark Jefferson happened."

MindsEye blinked as she thought back. "Mark Jefferson? That famous photographer who was caught trafficking child pornography a while back?"

"He hadn't been caught originally. Instead, he had made Blackwell his hunting grounds, funded completely by Sean Prescott. I was only the latest of his victims. He wasn't expecting someone with super strength, though. I broke free, then broke him. Found evidence of his actions against Rachel. Against others at Blackwell.

"I couldn't take it. The next thing I knew, I was at the street corner where Chloe's life had changed for the worse. I must've flown there. A small crowd of people were around. I'd been seen flying in, I guess. I'm not sure. All I know is I was mad with grief. I stretched out my hand, wishing I could've been there, to save Chloe, to save her happiness. And the next thing I knew, I was. And I did. Saved her. Saved them both.

"I changed the past, altered their lives, and I don't regret it for a second. I would've been content with that but Chloe was there. I couldn't leave her, not again. Never again. And when I met Rachel, her girlfriend, I told them I wouldn't get in the way of their love. They deserved happiness. I'd be happy to just be on the sidelines. But Rachel is so easy to love and I was always in love with Chloe. It took time, but they convinced me I deserved happiness, too.

"And I'm happy. Now. Happy with them. Happy I was a hero, a junior member of the SA. Happy I helped turn Arcadia Bay from a veritable ghost town to the thriving community it is now. Happy to hang up the cape and live my life with them for the rest of my life.

"But that last step is conditional on one thing." Max nodded towards MindsEye. "You. Staying silent about all of this. You can refuse, of course. Tell the SA everything we've discussed. Not now. Later, when I'm in LA. Try to come up with a more subtle way of convincing me to stay. Better methods to hide my other powers from others who would cause me and mine harm. But I'd just rewind again. And again. However many times it took. And maybe I'd go further back. Find a way to save Chloe that didn't reveal anything to anyone. Never join the SA. Never wear the uniform and cape. Get Chloe and Rachel out of Arcadia Bay in a different way. And I would. I'd never look back. For them, I'd never again take up the cause."

MindsEye looked at Max long and hard. Took a deep swallow of her long-cold coffee. Cleared her throat. "You would."

Max nodded. "What's the probability of success here?"

"Zero. And it's never zero. If life has taught me one thing, it's that there's always a chance. But not in this case. You're serious. Dead serious."

Again, Max nodded. "Part of me wants to apologize but you and I both know I'd just be lying."

"Hmm." MindsEye sat back and drank her coffee. Several minutes went by as both heroes, junior and senior, contemplated one another. Finally, MindsEye set the empty cup down and sighed. "I've been called a great many things during my time as a hero. Most of them uncomplimentary. I don't mind. I'm a hard-ass. I know it. But." She lifted her gaze to stare Max dead in the eyes. "I'm not heartless. I couldn't do that to you or your girlfriends. You're right, you deserve happiness. And if it's not with us, it's with them.

"I'll stay quiet. The SA will never know this from me. Ever. All I ask, from one hero to another, is that if anything huge happens, please, warn us. So we can do our jobs and save lives."

"Of course. I did that anyway, the first time. Anonymous hints here and there. Natural disaster here, terrorist attack there. I only found out later that all those tips were just fueling your investigation."

"Then, we'll work out a system. You and me. Anonymous tips that can't be traced back to you at all. I can feed them to the rest of the SA, keep you out of it."

"Thank you." Max sniffed. She couldn't help it. She got emotional when she was incredibly happy. "Thank you so damn much."

"Of course, Super-Max. Of course."

A short while later found the pair walking the streets of Arcadia Bay, slowly making their way back to Blackwell. It'd take a while but, hey, they were heroes. They could handle it. Plus, Max didn't mind waving to others, greeting them in passing. Being as well-known as she was here meant that no one stopped her. MindsEye was new, though, and even her perpetual scowl wasn't enough to dissuade everyone. A few were brave enough to ask MindsEye for an autograph, something she did only begrudgingly.

Max could tell she liked it, though. Just a bit. "Feels good to be appreciated, doesn't it."

MindsEye cleared her throat. "I see no reason to be rude and deny them. It feels weird, though. This is your town. They should be asking you for one, not me."

"I'm familiar. Anyone who wants my autograph certainly has one by now. Now, I just get the occasional congratulations and well wishes."

"They know about your retirement?"

"Yup. Made an announcement about it a month ago in the local papers. They're sad to see me go, of course, but they've all been super supportive."

MindsEye hummed. "Part of me wonders what it'd be like to live in a place like Arcadia Bay. Support the community. Have that chance at happiness."

Max lowered her right hand. "Maybe you will."

Confused, MindsEye turned to look at Max. "What do you mean?"

Before Max could answer, someone exited a nearby clothing shop and walked straight into MindsEye. The pair tripped over one another and fell to the sidewalk. MindsEye's training kicked in, though, allowing her to wrap her arms around the person and twist her body to take the brunt of the impact. She hit the ground with a loud "Oof!"

"Oh, my goodness! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Are you hurt? Are you dead?"

MindsEye winced but she'd taken harder hits in training. This was nothing. "Yes, no, no, and definitely not. But are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I think. Um." The girl in MindsEye's arms untangled herself and stood. "Here." And stuck out her hand to help MindsEye up.

MindsEye was about to snort at the offer when several somethings became apparent to her: 

  * The girl who had run into her was incredibly cute.
  * Her eyes, though, were shielded from her sight by very dark sunglasses.
  * Her out-stretched hand was pointed slightly in the wrong direction.
  * A long cane was held in her other hand.
  * Taking the hand came with a 97.3% probability of success.



Success of what, she wasn't exactly sure about. And she was getting just a bit too flustered to figure it out. Instead, she took the hand and allowed the girl to help pull her up, which she did with a long grunt.

"Wow, you're heavy." And immediately flushed bright red. "Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry! I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to call you fat!"

MindsEye chuckled. "Quite all right. No offense taken, especially since I know it's true. I'm close to 200, though not with fat. More like muscle."

"Wow. Um." The blush didn't go away. "D-do you work out?"

"Yes. And train. Couple hours a day, at least. When I'm not out on a mission."

"Mission?"

"Yes. MindsEye, at your service. Member of the Superhero-Association."

"Wow…" The girl breathed out a long sigh. "Another super hero. Are you in the Bay on a mission, then?"

"Just visiting Super-Max. Congratulating her on her retirement."

The girl smiled. MindsEye thought it looked good on her. "Super-Max is so incredibly nice. We're all sorry to see her go but, like she told me once, you always have to follow your heart wherever it may lead you. You two are friends, I take it?"

MindsEye blinked at the question. Were they? Not really. Friendly but not friends. She turned to get Max's take on it but she was gone. In her place was a piece of paper taped to a nearby lamp post. It read, "Follow your heart wherever it may lead you."

A long moment later, she turned back to the girl. And smiled. "Yes. Yes we are."

"Awesome! My name's Letitia. Pleased to meet you." She stuck out her hand, again, slightly in the wrong direction. "Um, sorry I ran into you."

MindsEye took her hand and shook it. "The pleasure's all mine."

And in that moment, a second friendship was born.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. I certainly didn't expect this! But once I read S&M, my brain wouldn't quit and the next thing I knew, this had jumped out. Written in a span of a few hours, this hasn't gone through my normal anal-rententiveness so there are likely errors scattered hither and yon. I'll correct them as time goes on.
> 
> MindsEye's outfit was inspired by a combination of [Miss Melee](https://miss-melee.com/comic/1-0/), [Jessica Drew's Spider-Woman (her mask)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Woman_\(Jessica_Drew\)), and Marvel Comic's Cyclops from the 1990s.
> 
> Letitia was inspired by [that one medusa comic](http://notthekgb.tumblr.com/post/136767881966/e2ropa-speciallagentdanascully-concept). [Y'know](https://imgur.com/gallery/IwpaTWB), [the one where she falls for a blind lesbian](http://sinksanksockie.tumblr.com/post/167671343727/shadowdianne-thefingerfuckingfemalefury) [that stumbles into her lair](http://thebigpurplebook.tumblr.com/post/147357789355/e2ropa-speciallagentdanascully-concept).
> 
> I hope it wasn't terrible.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [69](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17842571) by [simpletextadventure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpletextadventure/pseuds/simpletextadventure)




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